Coming Back
by Aileen Dickinson
Summary: Harry leaves Britain after the Final Battle without telling anyone; taking with him Teddy and someone else. After ten years he is ready to return along with the family he made for himself. Secrets will be revealed, new will be bonds formed while others may break forever... Warning contains Slash, don't like don't read.
1. Prologue

**AAaand... I'm back, with a new story. I know you're all waiting for me to finish the other two I've started but, I currently have no access to the pen drive where the files are saved. I'm trapped in my kitchen while I'm having some works done in my house... you can't imagine the amount of dust I'm inhaling!... so, since the muse came back after months of absolutely nothing, I have taken advantage of it. This story is already finished (That's what hiding out in a room for three days while someone is drilling holes in your wall will accomplish) and I'll do my best to update regularly. **

**I will post the remaining chapters of Never Betray a Fox and Bloody Rose as soon as I'm physically able to get my hands on the pen drive, promise!**

**For now, I hope you enjoy this new fanfiction! **

* * *

Harry rubbed angrily his face. It didn't make much of a difference since he was filthy from the debacle in the Room of Requirement and being on the run for months; but he could not bear the thought of facing Voldemort for the last time while crying.

He didn't want to die.

Hell, he was seventeen. He should be running as far away from there as possible, instead he was walking resolutely towards his death.

Because that's what Dumbledore had said. He was a horcrux and he had to die for Voldemort to die too. And wasn't that just awesome? Once again, he had to sacrifice something for the wizarding world. First his parents, his childhood, his teenage years had been riddled with danger and the general populace either worshipped him or ridiculed him, neither of which he appreciated. And now. He had to make the ultimate sacrifice.

His life.

Taking out the resurrection stone from his pocket he stared longingly at his parents and Remus, who had died only sometime in the past two hours.

"Does it hurt?" he asked, his voice croaking from unshed tears.

Sirius tiled his head "Didn't feel a thing"

"Gr-great" he sniffed "I guess I'll see you soon" he offered with a bad impression of smile "I'll see Fred too, he'll need someone to cause havoc with"  
Remus and James looked at each other frowning while Lily smiled "You won't find him on the other side"

"Wha'?"

He was about to ask more when a green flash hit him and all he felt was burning.

§§

Harry shot up gasping for breath. He was covered in sweat and his head felt like it was splitting open from the inside; much like it did years ago whenever Voldemort was angry or sent him one of his violent visions.

He gulped, still taking deep breaths. He felt like no matter what, there wasn't enough air in his lungs and he knew that the more worked up he became, the worse it was, but he couldn't help it.

Whenever he dreamed of those times, he felt like he had just lived them again and was left feeling a complete emotional mess.

The sheets rumbled from his side and strong arms went to wrap around his shoulders.

"Shh. Calm down, love. Take deep breaths…. In, hold it… and out" the rough voice instructed. He could feel the other's chest pressed against his back, feel each of the man's breaths, helping him into finding a rhythm back.

"I really hate those horrible nightmares" the man said dropping a kiss against Harry's bare shoulder

"That makes two of us" he rasped leaning back in the embrace, hoping to soothe his migraine

"Think you can go back to sleep?"

"Not sure. My head is killing me but I don't want to dream again" he admitted

"Lay back down, I'll fetch you a pain potion for the pain"

"Thank you, love" he said snuggling back under the covers. It wasn't cold, but the breeze coming from the open windows felt chilly against his sweat soaked body.

He must have nodded off, because he was being gently shaken awake and ordered to swallow. Pain potions. No matter how many new potions and stuff the wizarding world discovered or invented, it seemed that potions had to taste awful no matter what.

"I really wish you wouldn't have to keep relieving the moment you died over and over again…" the deep voice murmured while settling back down so they were spooning Harry "It's been years and… I hate seeing what effect it has on you"

"Can't do much about it" he mumbled "I'm as well adjusted as I could possibly get, at least according to the mind healer. Still, not many people have to make a conscious decision to sacrifice themselves and them come back to life to deal with the trauma of it"

The man snorted "That's an understatement. Name another single person who had to"

"Okay, point. I'm probably the only one. Doesn't change the fact that the healer did his best to help me and I'll probably be forever scarred. Nothing new" he said "You knew that years ago when we got together"

A low growl sounded behind him "Don't make it sound like I somehow resent you for your nightmares. You know It's nothing like that."

"I know" Harry soothed him, wincing at his poor wording

"I would do anything to take this pain away from you"

"I know, as would I for you. But just like you can't help my nightmares, I can't do anything about you going furry once a month" He said turning around to face his lover "We can just be there for each other"

"Always" the man replied leaning forward to leave a lingering kiss on his husband's lips.

* * *

**And... that's it... I'll try to update every day for the first week, so we can get into the story a little and then it will probably be once a week; depending on how you respond. **

**It's not much yet, but let me know what do you think about it. **


	2. Chapter 1

**I'm happy that the prologue of this story was received so well! I see that some of you are already trying to guess the mystery husband, let's see if one of you get it right! **

* * *

It had been ten years since Harry left Great Britain and he had never regretted it.

Sure, it had been difficult choosing to leave behind his friends, the only family he had left, but he needed to do it. For himself.

Ever since he entered the wizarding world at eleven years old, he had been forced to put everyone's well being before himself and his happiness. He knew, as soon as it was over, that it couldn't continue like that.

He had to put himself first for once or he would lose himself forever.

His resolve strengthened even more when he realized that following Remus and Tonks deaths, he would be responsible for little Teddy as his role of godfather demanded. He wasn't sure if Tonks' mother would object and demand custody of her grandson but he was determined to fight to be part of the boy's life, whether he would be the one to actually raise him or not.

He could remember that two days in crystal clarity, from the moment they realized they had to head to Hogwarts until he left the castle, a full day after the battle.

People everywhere were crying. Some for the lives lost, others happy that the war was over, others were angry and so on. Everyone was just so full of emotions that it was difficult to be around them when he felt so numb.

The Weasleys were inconsolable for Fred's death. He was helping a few younger students who stayed behind to fight, when a spell hit the wall and it crashed over him. That part of the castle ha suffered major damage and it was considered too dangerous to venture into until the structure could be stabilized; it was for that reason that all the bodies of those who died there hadn't been recovered yet; that the Weasley's didn't have a body to cry over yet. The family was huddled close, in a massive hug around George and Mrs. Weasley, the most inconsolable of the lot. Even Percy had rejoined his family, having been fighting alongside the twins when the tragedy happened and it was clear to see that the older brother felt guilty for not being able to help.

Harry didn't much care for the danger the area posed for himself. He should have died the night before… he HAD died the night before. The fact that he was alive again was not in his plans, merely a fluke… or a cruel joke of fate.

He realized that he was not fully himself. That he ha serious problems if he was thinking of taking in a toddler one moment and completely disregarding his safety the next, but it was still too raw and painful to face that particular wound yet.

He wandered the halls aimlessly, stepping over the rubble and whole sections of walls. He registered and mentally cataloged every corpse he met, he would take them all with him to the great hall on his way back. He stopped each time though to conjure a white sheet to cover them; black for the death eaters. Call him childish but he wasn't feeling particularly benevolent toward those dead, it was already too much that he would be not leaving them behind to rot until someone grew the balls to venture in that part of the castle.

It was sometime later that he came across the mangled corpse of Fenrir Greyback. The monster who had cursed Remus, terrorized England for years, attacked Bill at his wedding and nearly killed Lavander leaving her with horrible scars she would have to live with. Through the numbness he could feel a spark of vindictiveness and satisfaction at his death. He deserved all the pain he probably felt and more.

Hastily conjuring a black sheet to cover him, he moved on. He was nearly at the section where Hermione said Fred had fallen.

He knew all to well what his friend would be feeling right now after witnessing his brother dying in front of his very eyes. He went through it with Cedric and then with Sirius. Sure, he and the other boy were not even friends but the helplessness and guilt he felt for the situation were the same. With Sirius it was more personal, closer to what Ron was feeling because, even though the man was damaged from Azkaban, he still saw him as a father figure. One that he was not able to properly bond with or spend time together, one that trusted Dumbledore over his words when he said that the Dursleys hated him, and one that from time to time mistook him for James. But he was the only father figure he could claim for himself, who was he to complain about his shortcomings and faults?

He felt the numbness recede again, leaving space for the heart clawing guilt he was all too familiar with. He nearly cried at the feeling.

If only he had not insisted that the two take the cup together, Cedric would still be alive. But he was too absorbed in his perfect Gryffindor role, one that Dumbledore so carefully sewed skin tight to his person, that he had to insist, and led to the death of a young man.

If only he hadn't rushed to the Ministry, full of stubbornness, refusing to listen to anyone just because he was always so angry at everything. Angry at Dumbledore for ignoring him all year, at Umbridge for torturing him with her blasted quill and horrid personality. He was even angry at Hermione for forcing him to teach to the DA, when he clearly told her he didn't want to; though he never voiced it to her to avoid a big confrontation.

Of course, Sirius had been dueling very carelessly, even goading Bellatrix. But it was only Harry's fault if he was at the Ministry. It was his fault if he fell into the Veil.

He chocked back down a sob, no matter how much time passed, the death of his godfather was still as raw as when it happened, that night when he completely trashed the Headmaster's office. Only without the rage, leaving behind only despair, shame and self-deprecation.

It was then that passing the portrait, now reduced to trashed canvas, of a wizard riding a griffin that he saw it.

The wall blasted to pieces, rubble everywhere and a single piece of the trademark magenta Weasley robes sticking through it.

He started methodically moving stones and whole segments of the fallen wall, trying with all his might to not think about the state he would find the red head in. Trying no to throw up at the images his traitorous mind kept conjuring against his will.

He frowned when he discovered that a little bubble of air, completely free of debris, was revealed. He was more careful now, he felt that he was near and didn't want to damage the body more that it already was.

It was only a few stones later that a pale bloodless hand was revealed.

He wiped a tear away and renewed his efforts.

He hadn't realized how magically exhausted he was. Sure he was bone tired physically and mentally spent, but his magic too was struggling with the most simple levitating charms. When the stone he was trying to move wobbled and fell back down, he growled in frustration, resisting the urge to simply throw his wand away.

Instead he pocketed it, and went to it in the good old muggle way. It was more difficult, those rocks sure weighted a ton and soon his hands were all bloody. But he was succeeding. Fred's upper half was free. The rubble had piled up in a way where none of them had actually fallen over his head and torso. If things had gone differently, that would have allowed him to survive long enough for help to arrive, he thought grimly.

His legs though. That was the real problem. They were completely blocked by massive sections of wall that he had no hope to be able to remove on his own, especially without magic.

Angry and now crying earnestly he fell on his ass near the motionless body of his friend.

Why was he always so useless when it really mattered?

§§

Gentle hands were wiping the tears away from his face. He blinked trying to gather his bearings. Dark, warmth on his side, comfortable bed. Yup, he was back in his bedroom.

"Love, that's the fifth nightmare in as many days"

"I know" he sighed heavily

"Are you sure you want to go through with it?" the man asked running a hand trough his wild hair.

"With what?"

"You know…" he gestured "Going back to England"

"Of course I'm sure" Harry replied vehemently "Teddy is going to be eleven soon and I won't deprive him of the chance to go to Hogwarts, see where his parents had grown up .."

"Even if the price is your mental wellbeing?"

"Yes" He knew that he was stubbornly keeping his mind, but no matter how he swore that he would take care of himself and put his own happiness first the day that he left England behind; he knew that all that good intentions go right down the drain where children are concerned.

The man sighed heavily, obviously it was an old argument that he always lost in the end

"Come on. Don't you miss your family?" Harry retaliated "Don't you want to see them again? See what they did in all those years?" he knew that it was a low blow, especially since he knew that it was a sore subject for his husband. But it had to be addressed at some point, more so, since they were actually going back.

"Yes… and no" the man confessed.

"Why?" he asked, snuggling against the broader chest of his lover and idly tracing circles with his finger.

"It's going to kill them to discover the truth" the man said "It took them ages to accept it and now I go back and what? Surprise them? Mum would have a heart attack"

Harry pursed his lips, knowing that his husband was right. It was a horrible situation where no matter what someone would hurt. Either the man of his life for stubbornly refusing to re-join his family, depriving himself of their love and presence; or his family for finding out that the last ten years of their life they had believe and come to terms with a lie. There was no easy way out.

"I… you're not forced to come back if you really don't want to" Harry said biting his lip ferociously. He hated that idea, but if that was what his husband wanted, he would accept it.

The man scoffed "So you can't stand the thought of being an ocean away from our son but I can remain here while the man I love and my family leave?"

Harry went to speak, defend himself, because when he said it like that it really sounded horrible.

"No, sorry. I'm just… full moon's near. You know it makes me testy." The man immediately went to apologize "I know that living away from me would be just as bad as being away from Teddy for you. I didn't mean to accuse you of loving me less or being able to stay away"

"You know I can't live without you"

"Neither can I. It's just difficult. I never thought I would have to face them again"

"You knew that one day Teddy would have gone to Hogwarts"

"Sure did" the man laughed without humour "But knowing it would happen someday and having that day looming over your head are two very different things" he said "I thought I had more time to come to terms with the idea of going back."

"Thought you could put it off forever" Harry supplied with a smirk

The man shrugged, though it came out strange since Harry's head was resting on his shoulder. "We do denial so well…"

"Let's try to sleep some more. We actually have to work in the morning"

* * *

**As promised here the next chapter. **

**Thank you to everyone who added this story to their favorites or alerts lists and to those who left a review! **


	3. Chapter 2

**I'm really happy you're liking this story. It seems that some of you have the same idea of who the mystery husband is... don't worry I won't make you wait too long to find out! XD**

* * *

"Hey Dad"

"What is it?" Harry said looking at his son through the rear view mirror for a moment. They rarely used magical transportation, mainly because he was still as bad as flooing as he was at eleven years old and he despised portkeys. Muggle cars soon became a welcome luxury they enjoyed. It was so much more comfortable and gave them the chance to spend some time together instead of the immediate magical travel.

"Can you tell me more about Hogwarts?" the teal haired child grinned

"Ted. I have already told you practically everything there is to know" he laughed "Trice!"

"So what?" he pouted "I want to hear it all again. I can't believe I'll goo to school there. But I'll miss all my friends…"

"We can come back for the summer and you can always write to them."

"Dad?" the child called again after a while

"Yes, Teddy?"

"Are you really ok with going back?"

Harry frowned "Why are you asking that, cub?"

"It's just…. You aren't sleeping well… I heard Papa saying that you have nightmares again… about the war?" he said chewing on his lip "and he didn't look all that thrilled either at going back"

"Oh, son" he sighed. Running a hand through his hair he wished for the umpteenth time that children came with a user's manual. What was he supposed to say to his son without making him feel guilty?

"Teddy… you know a little about the war. How I was forced to be the main fighter all through my teenage years" he started keeping his eyes firmly on the road

"Yes, you told me some"

"That causes me to have nightmares, even though It's been years and I'm all grown up. Going back is bound to make certain memories resurface and while I'm fine when I think about them during the day, at night they come as nightmares" he tried to explain "I knew that this would happen even before we decided to go back"

"Maybe…"

"No. Let me finish Teddy" he stopped him before the child could propose to forget about Hogwarts. "Those years were not all bad. Just because I have nightmares, doesn't mean that I didn't have happy moments and made good memories too. I may dream of the final battle at night, but I also remember all the quidditch games and the parties in the common room. Just because I see the Dark Lord and his death eaters in my sleep, doesn't mean that the other half on me isn't excited to see my old friends again."

He swallowed, feeling a little out of his depth "Just because my nightmares make you see the bad side of going back… there is the other side of the coin too. What I'm trying to say is that those will go away soon…"

"Maybe…" the child mumbled "Papa still isn't happy…"

"Papa has his own stuff to deal with about going back, you know it."

"But… is it worth it?" he asked stubbornly "Going back and face all that pain just to make me attend the same school you and my biological parents went to?"

"I think it is worth it" Harry said "And went we left it was never with the intention of never going back. We just needed time to heal away from all that bad memories and the mess the wizarding world was left into"

"What if your're wrong?" Teddy insisted, hair going from a bright teal to a dull sad blue "What if I hate Hogwarts and can't make any friends? Or if you're miserable being back?"

Harry let out a laugh "Miserable? Aren't you being a little dramatic Ted?" he asked "I doubt you'll hate Hogwarts, but if that happens we would never force you to stay there"

"And you and dad?"

"We may be a little sad and stuff but to really heal we need to go back and face our demons, son" he said "One can't run away forever"

Teddy turned pensive in the back seat, no doubt trying to assimilate his dad's words.

"Now, turn your hair back to teal and off with you" he said stopping the car in front of the muggle school "and try not to get in detention again!"

"I'll try" the child grinned mischievously before hopping off and joining his friends.

§§

"Harry, we need to talk for a moment"

He had just come back from the closed off wing of the castle. People had been surprised to see him enter the great hall with a procession of sheet covered bodies behind him.

He had felt a sharp stab of guilt when after examining everybody, the Weasleys turned to look at him, questions and betrayal in their eyes.

He ignored the taste of the vomit in the back of his throat as he told them how sorry he was, how he had been unable to go past a certain point and retrieve Fred's body. They mumbled something about it not being his fault, but he could feel that it was fake. They had expected him to bring back their son and brother and he had let them down. Again.

Not being able to face them anymore he had turned to leave, intent on getting some fresh air outside, when Kingsley had stopped him.

"We must plan how to proceed now"

He frowned, not understanding what the older man meant. It was over. He had killed Voldemort and the war was finally over. What else was left to do?

"There are the escaped death eaters to round up and arrest, we need to trial those we captured last night and there is the matter of the ministry too"

"Can't the aurors think about it?" he asked, a little amount of resentment in his voice "It would be about time for them to actually do something since the whole war had to be fought by a gaggle of wizards and students"

"Harry…." The man reprimanded "It is our duty to see the end of it. The aurors are not equipped to deal with the seasoned death eaters that escaped. They would be killed far too easily"

"Of course" he scoffed "it's perfectly fine to send me off to battle… without a lick of training… but aurors can't leave their comfy offices"

"I don't know where this attitude comes from, but I don't like it much"

"I'm seventeen!" He screamed, turning to face the man "I'm fucking seventeen and no one gave a fuck that I have been forced to fight this war from the moment I entered the wizarding world. I had to fucking die last night because Voldemort put a fucking piece of his soul in my scar that Halloween night! Do you know what's like being a kid and having to decide to sacrifice your own fucking life so everyone else can have a chance to live past the battle?" the asked, voice hoarse "No, you fucking don't. You chose to be part of the war, to put yourself in danger again and again. Every choice was taken away from me. I DIED. And now you expect me to keep fighting?" he kept going tears streaming down his face "Can't you see that I'm falling apart? I'm exhausted and traumatized and fucking broken! Can't you adults act like fucking adults for once and stop relying on a kid to save your fucking asses!"

The older man was shocked to the core at the teen's outburst. He didn't expect Harry to be so resentful towards the situation, towards them. His words stuck a cord though. The boy had always been so mature, well above his years, and always so ready to do his part in the war. Kingsley had never considered the fact that it may not have been of his own choice. The only one who had constant contact with Harry was Dumbledore and the man was adamant of the boy's role being crucial to win the war. He had forgotten that Harry was just a boy and not a soldier.

He felt deeply ashamed of himself. Even more so after expecting Harry to help in the aftermath of the battle. He stayed put and watched as the boy stormed off towards the lake. He would have to talk to the others and make sure that they understood that they could not ask more of their Saviour. Because he realized that any more weight on his young shoulders would literally break him apart without a possibility of fixing it.

§§

Harry all but threw himself on the chair behind his desk. Finally alone in his office, he could discard the easy smile and let his worry display on his face.

He hadn't expected Teddy to ask those questions in the morning, but he had always been a very bright and insightful child. Clearly taking after Remus, who always could guess when something was bothering you and smart to a fault.

They had tried very hard to keep their doubts and the difficulties they faced about going back firmly behind the closed doors of their bedroom, so their family would not be burdened by it. Apparently, it didn't work that well. That and his husband should have never taught Teddy how to eavesdrop without being caught.

He meant what he had said though. He had surely gotten much better mentally and emotionally after leaving Great Britain, the years away had helped and given him more time to heal. But the final step in healing would be facing all those things again to get some closure. He had been in denial when five years ago his mind healer had told him as much, but after some time to accept it he realized the wisdom of it. Would it hurt? Of course, but it was necessary. Just like it was important for his husband to stop hiding away and face his family, owing up to his actions. He may be conflicted over it and hate the situation for now, but after it was all said and done, they would be better for it. His family may even resent him for a period, he was well aware of it and it was the main reason the man kept stalling, but they would never turn their back on their own blood and would forgive him after a little time to come to terms with the reality.

A knock on his door startled him out of his depressing thoughts and fixing his tie he bid them to enter

"Did you wish to see me, Mr Potter?"

"Yes, do come in and sit" he said leaning back against the leather chair "As you know, we will be opening a new branch of the company in the continent. My husband and I will move to London to oversee the process and make sure everything goes smoothly. For that reason we need someone to take care of things here in our stead. You've been a loyal and efficient member of our staff for many years now. We would like to offer you a promotion"

"You… you want me to?"

"To become the director of the American branch of the company" Harry supplied with a smirk "You will still answer to us. We expect weekly reports of the business and every major decision will be taken by us of course. But you will certainly get a substantial raise in salary and social standing"

"I'm honored to be considered for this position, sir. I swear I won't disappoint you" the man said beside himself at the prospect

"I know you won't. Pass to human resources so they can make the necessary chances, I have already notified them of your promotion." He instructed "You will shadow me for the next month, just for my peace of mind, since I know you are perfectly competent to act as director."

"Yes, sir." The man said before leaving with a big grin.

"And that's one thing taken care of" Harry said to the empty office. "A thousand more to go"

* * *

**Thank you to everyone who added this story to their favorites or alerts lists and who left a review! **


	4. Chapter 3

**Here's the next chapter as promised! **

* * *

Harry looked up from his cooking when his husband entered the kitchen.

"Welcome back home. Did you have a fight with a dragon or what?" he asked, eyes gleaming with mirth "You're covered in soot"

"Explosion in the lab… blasted soot doesn't want to vanish. I had to leave the car at work and apparate so I don't dirty it all." The man said with a mild expression of disgust before mumbling "I really hope it washes away"

"You're not getting into my bed in those conditions, so find a solution" Harry warned him

"Aye, aye. I'm off to shower" the man announced before darting in and leaving a sloppy kiss to Harry's cheek.

Harry chuckled amused. His husband could always put a smile on his face, no matter what.

"Papa's silly isn't he?" he cooed to the toddler babbling happily away on his high chair.

"I doubt Nate is going to answer you anytime soon, dad" Teddy grinned rushing through the kitchen

"Don't run on the stairs!" he shouted after him, already knowing that it would fall on deaf years "Don't you dare become a rascal like your big brother, you hear?"

"Bah"

"Exactly" he nodded satisfied with the answer before going back to the stove to check on dinner.

"Alright, I'm squeaky clean… though I may have had to scrub a little too hard to get rid of the soot" The man complained rubbing the red skin of his cheek.

"Aw, you poor dear"

"Laugh it up… I'll have my revenge. Who's my little man? Who is my little man?" the grumpy exterior completely vanished as the man turned to putty in front of his youngest son "yes, you are"

Harry watched fondly as the two interacted. The man was a natural with kids and it was sad to think that had they stayed behind in Great Britain, probably he wouldn't have been allowed to have children because of his condition. People were so prejudiced. He wasn't sure how much things had changed to be honest but in theory, they were now allowed if they could prove not to be a danger during the full moons. It was the way they would put it in practice that worried him.

"So, I was thinking. Since we have to go back and no amount of my whining or growling is going to change it…. Shouldn't we find a place to live? Camping under the starts sounds good and all, but I doubt our darling daughters would appreciate the sentiment"

Harry laughed imagining their twin monsters having to deal with icky insects. "You're right. I actually went ahead and contacted a muggle agency. They sent me several options to look through"

"Always prepared…"

Harry shrugged "If that's one thing that the years at Hogwarts taught me, it's to be always prepared"

"What requirements did you gave them?"

"Plenty of rooms, a cellar for your potion lab, a giant family room, a couple of rooms to turn into studies and a library. And, of course, a garden the size of a quidditch pitch" he counted off his fingers "I also told them that we would prefer a place that afforded us privacy, so as little neighborhood as possible, but with how the place is going to be big, they'll probably sent us a number of small manors to look through"

The man shrugged "Sounds good to me. Living in a muggle neighborhood has been a fun experience but I'll like the kids to be able to practice and see magic more freely than what is allowed here in the States."

"Yeah. It will still be a muggle place but we can put up wards so no one will see magic being performed. The alternative is old Grimmauld Place and…. Just no" Harry shook his head "By the way, Teddy sniffed our moods. I guess my nightmares and your whining hadn't been as subtle as we thought"

"Fu-dge…" Harry was extremely angry whenever someone cussed in front of the kids, it was something he didn't tolerate. He was glad he had been able to stop before the whole word came out or it would have meant an uncomfortable night cramped on the study couch.

"I talked to him but I'm not sure how much it worked. It's hard to argue how it will be all fine and dandy, when we are visibly struggling with going back"

"Ted's always been too smart for our own good"

"Yeah, and you teaching him the marauder's way didn't exactly help" Harry laughed

"Hmpf" the man sniffed "Marauding is in his blood!" the man declared "By the way, what's for dinner? I'm famished" he asked pitifully holding his stomach.

§§

Harry had stayed near the lake for hours before he felt calm enough to be around other people again without losing control of what little magic he had managed to replenish.

Slowly he started walking back towards the castle. He was not looking forward being surrounded by everyone. He was still feeling guilty about all the deaths caused by the battle and having people congratulate him for his victory made the bile rise to his throat all over again.

The grounds were completely destroyed. The only plant life still actually alive was the whoomphing willow, which had actually beaten its fair share of unsuspecting death eaters coming too close. There were huge patches of burnt grass, holes here and there and areas of loose earth. Everywhere there lingered the smell of smoke, burnt cloth and blood. Or maybe it was just his imagination, reacting to the scenery and the visible puddles of blood all over.

He had never been safe at Hogwarts, but the castle had always been his heaven away from the Dursleys. Now, he had trouble recognizing it and feeling at home. He just wanted to get as far away as possible.

"Harry! I've been looking all over for you!"

"Hermione. What is it?" he asked tiredly. He still hadn't slept a wink in two days and he was all but ready to crash. Too bad his brain wouldn't let him.

"Something happened. Professor McGonagall wishes to speak with you"

"What happened? Did someone die?" He asked ready to panic.

"No… no one else… just… Mrs. Tonks came and…" she stopped biting her lip "Maybe she should tell you about it"

He frowned, already expecting the worst. The woman probably considered him deranged and a danger to her grandson and came to tell him to stay as far away from them as humanly possible. He would never get to see Teddy.

"She's waiting for you in there" she said pointing to a room near the great hall doors.

He knocked and waited for her permission before entering.

She wasn't alone. Mrs. Tonks was indeed there, crying over the body of her daughter and rocking back and forth on her chair. She wasn't giving much attention to the body of her son in law, though, he noted bitterly.

"Mr. Potter" the transfiguration professor called "Thank you for joining us." He turned to look at her and saw that she was sitting near a conjured crib holding his sleeping godson. He itched to walk over and look at him, discover just how much he took after Remus and where instead he looked like Tonks, but refrained.

He didn't want to give the older woman anymore reason to hate him.

"We need to talk about the fate of young Mr. Lupin." She said without wasting anytime. "There's no need to look at Mrs. Tonks, Harry. Andromeda, I'm afraid, is taking the loss of her daughter extremely badly and we had to moderately sedate her. She's covered by a silencing bubble right now"

"Oh"

"I'm afraid that after losing her husband Ted, this is too much for her." The woman sighed "She… let's just say that she's not in her right mind and unjustly blamed Remus for Nymphadora's death"

"It's not his fault! HE told he to stay away!"

"I know that, Mr. Potter. And she knows too, but grief makes people say things they know are not true." Minerva tried to placate him "The fact of the matter is that the healer didn't recognize her fit for taking care of a toddler at the moment. She is a risk to herself and young Mr. Lupin too"

"What do you mean risk?" He demanded "Did she try to hurt Teddy?"

"No, she didn't. She did try to turn her wand on herself though and while fighting with the healer there were stray hexes that could have harmed the baby if I hadn't been here to shield him" she admitted. Andromeda was a close friend of hers and it pained her incredibly the thought of the other woman not being considered sane of mind and being stripped of he custody of the last family member she had. But Teddy's welfare came first.

"As his godfather, you have the right to take him in your custody. Otherwise he would become a ward of the Ministry"

"NO!" he shouted "I'm sorry… but no. I won't leave him to the Ministry, Merlin knows what they'll do just because his father was a werewolf. I'll take him"

"Are you sure? Taking care of a baby this young and raising him is not an easy task and you are certainly left worn from the war, more so than others"

"I can take care of him and I'm not too proud to seek the help I need" he stated resolutely.

"Very well. I took the liberty of procuring the necessary documents to pass the baby's custody to you. You only need to sign them"

With shaky steps he walked to the desk near his professor and signed them. He was officially Teddy's guardian.

"Harry" she gently called him "Here, cradle him into your arms and be careful to hold his head. He can't do that on his own yet and it's very delicate"

Confused, he tuned to see her ready to pass the sleeping baby to his arms. He almost wanted to refuse, he had never held a baby, hell, he had never been near one at all. He didn't want to hurt him or worse drop him.

Dropping him would be quite possible at the moment, his arms felt like a mix of lead that he couldn't move and as flabby as jelly.

Before he was able to formulate a coherent thought, the baby was actually in his arms and he looked down startled.

He was perfect.

Absolutely perfect.

Rosy cheeked and a little pudgy, a cute button nose and pouty lips a little open in his sleep. He also smelled wonderful. A mix of talc and sunshine.

He could understand now why people said that parents fell in love at first sight with their children. Teddy was not his by blood but he sure felt like that.

He knew that he would be ready to raise hell and earth to protect this little miracle. The ministry only had to think wrongly of his godson and they would mourn Voldemort, for he would be far worse in his rage.

Not that he intended to remain there to let the Ministry try anything. He had wanted to leave even before the war was over, his resolve was only strengthened now by this new development.

"He's a pretty child, isn't he?" Minerva smiled

"He's beautiful" he murmured sitting on the chair that his professor had vacated so he could safely hold the baby with only one arm and caress his soft cheek with his other hand.

"Professor, will Mrs. Tonks be able to organize their funerals?"

"I do not know Harry" she admitted "she's mildly sedated now and the healer recommended having her followed by one of Mungo's mind healers if she doesn't get better in the next few days. I doubt that she will take well to having her custody removed…"

He chewed on his lip "She'll blame me…"

"Maybe. But it was the right thing to do and well within the healer's responsibilities." She said before offering "I can take care of the arrangements should she be unable too." The child should not be forced to take care of their funerals, especially with how close he had been to Remus. It was already hard enough for him, she thought.

"I… Remus would have liked to be next to Dad in Godric's Hollow. Sirius too… but..." he cleared his throat, not wanting to cry in front of his professor. "Unless Mrs. Tonks can organize something different for BOTH of them, they should be buried next to my parents"

"I will take care of it, I promise." She said solemnly "And I won't let Andromeda disregard Remus, he was a great man and loved Nymphadora with all his heart."

"Thank you" he croaked "I should go? Before the sedatives wear off and she tries to hex me too?"

"Probably for the best. I will stay with her"

* * *

**Thank you everyone for adding my story to your favorite or alerts lists and leaving a review!**


	5. Chapter 4

**I'm back with the fourth chapter!**

* * *

The departure date was now only two weeks away. Harry hadn't wanted Teddy to miss his friends too much so he had organized the boy a 'birthday' party before leaving, even though he wouldn't become eleven for another two months yet.

Moving away would be hard enough and he didn't want his son to be sad because he had not managed to make enough friends to invite to his birthday in England. It would also serve as a goodbye party for the other kids.

His house was about to be invaded by a hundred children. He was not exaggerating either.

He had spent the morning packing away all the magical items and the breakables, even though the main party would be outside, he wasn't under any illusion that the rest of the house would be safe from the tornado that usually followed children everywhere.

His husband had hired a catering service to take care of the mountain of food needed for all the children invited and their parents. Sandwiches, pizza and other stuff he had not cared about would keep flowing out of his kitchen at all times until it they were ready to blow the candles. There were actually two cakes, one for the birthday boy and another that said "See you soon".

CRASH

"Merlin give me the strength" he muttered before shouting to the rest of the house "What happened?"

Teddy appeared looking frazzled "Erm… You better come.."

Following the boy he came to the sight of his twin daughters looking all innocent, their long deep auburn hair tied into pig tails and dressed for the party. On the floor one of their brothers crying.

"Shh, come here baby" he cooed taking the five year old boy into his arms "What happened to Rowan?" he asked again

"We were running around… playing tag and he wanted to join… but he's clumsy and tripped" Teddy explained felling a little guilty

He hummed, still rocking the toddler "And the reason you two look as if you've done something wrong?"

"We didn't mean to…"

"It was an accident….

He raised an eyebrow, demanding an explanation.

The girl on the right pointed somewhere behind him where a small ball was laying innocently.

"So, you've been playing with the ball inside the house. Which I told you many times you can't do. And instead of putting it away, you left it in the middle of the corridor where anyone could step on it and fall?"

"We're sorry" they chorused.

Sighing deeply, he closed his eyes "I won't' punish you for today, because the party is for everyone and it wouldn't be fair." He started "But your little brother could have been hurt badly if he had hit his head. You're on dish duty for the rest of the week and if it happens again, I'll take away your computers"

"Yes Daddy"

"Good. Now, take the ball outside and behave" he said shooing them away.

The young boy had calmed down now, only letting out a sniffle every once in a while, "Are you okay now baby?"

"Yes. I hurt my knee"

"I see… I think that calls for Papa's magic?"

"Uh uh" the boy nodded with a small smile

"Hey" his husband called seeing them coming down the stairs "What's wrong with Rowan?"

"We had a little accident" Harry explained "I'll leave him into your capable hands"

"Aww, my poor cub" the man cooed "I think this grievous injury calls for a kiss and… chocolate!" he whispered conspiratorially, as is Harry wasn't a couple of steps away and could perfectly hear them.

"By the way, your twins are in trouble for the rest of the week"

"How come they're my twins every time they cause something?" the man grumbled but his only answer was a disbelieving raised eyebrow. "Alright, point."

§§

"Kinglsey"

"Harry… what can I do for you?" the man asked somberly, still a little shaken by the reality the boy had so viciously slapped to his face.

"In the headmaster's office, there are Snape's memories. He was our spy all along, it was Dumbledore who made him promise to kill him" He said

"Impossible, Dumbledore would never…"

"He was dying, from the curse on his hand. Draco had been tasked to kill him that year but he was too…." He was about to say 'coward' but really… who would expect a sixteen year old boy to kill in cold blood? "he couldn't do it. Dumbledore made Snape swear he would do it instead, so his role as a spy would be secure. Too bad, the old man liked to keep his cards too close to his chest and no one trusted Snape anymore. Pretty useless having a spy that can't report to anyone"

"Are you absolutely certain that the memories are real, not tampered with?"

"The man is dead, what reason would he have to tamper with them? Make himself appear better than he actually was?" he scoffed. Why were wizards so obtuse at times? "He gave me the final piece to defeat Voldemort. He showed me the memory where Dumbledore revealed to him that I was a Horcrux and had to die for Voldemort to die too" he revealed "I want those memories used to reveal his role in the war. As much as I hated him, he's still a hero and should be treated as such. Just keep out the parts about horcruxes, less people know about those, the better it is"

"I will take care of it" the man rumbled, shaken by the news, again. "Are you sure you don't want to hold onto the memories until we can use them?"

"No, no.. it's better for you to do it.. being an auror and all" Harry mumbled, the excuse weak to his ears but the man seemed not to make anything of it.

"If you're sure."

"I am. Also, the Malfoys will have to be tried won't they?"

"Yes, of course. They are death eaters"

"Mrs. Malfoy lied to Voldemort saying that I was dead when she could perfectly see that I was alive. I owe her a life debt. Without her, even if she did it only to know if Draco was still alive; I wouldn't have been able to kill Voldemort."

"I suppose that would put her in a position where the jury would only give her a smaller punishment. She is not marked even if the dark section had camped at her manor"

"Draco too. He refused to identify me when we were captured. Gave us time to run away before they called Voldemort" Harry added hastily "I can give you the memories for their trials"

Kingsley blinked "Why are you wanting to do it now? You'll be called anyway to give your testimony"

"Because I want it to be over with and if they'll just accept the memories, I'm going to avoid the Ministry like the plague" Harry said, that part was true after all "Can you take them or not?"

"I can take and hold onto them until the trials. But they'll want to hear it from you too."

"No, they will want to parade their saviour. And I'm done being anyone's puppet" It took Harry only a few moments to conjure two different vials and store the memories inside.

"Alright. Anything on old Lucius too?" The man asked "I'm not sure my heart could take it if he suddenly turned good"

"No, nothing on him. But in the end, he was just a father trying to keep his family safe. He didn't even have his wand and he didn't participate in the battle." he mused "He was as much as a prisoner in his own manor as those people in his dungeons."

"He still did unspeakable things"

"And for those he should be punished. For the acts he committed, not for who he represents or for revenge against the right-hand man of the Dark Lord"

"You are wise beyond your years Harry"

"Yes, well… fighting a war when you're only a teenager would do that to you" he bitterly said "Bye Kings.."

§§

Leisurely sipping from his drink, he basked in his moment of tranquility before one of the children would crash into his legs demanding his attention or one of the parents spotted him.

The party was in full swing and there were people everywhere. He had no hope of spotting any of his kids, not even the teal haired birthday boy, among the mass of bodies.

It was complete chaos.

"Sickle for your thoughts?" the husky voice of his husband murmured into his ear, while embracing his from behind

"Are my thoughts so cheap" he teased

"Never. I'm just dirt poor" the other rebuked making him laugh

"You've become plenty rich. I was simply enjoying the silence before the storm" Harry said "Do you think they'll make this many friends back in England?"

"Sure they will. They're all great kids and will adapt in no time, you'll see"

"I wish I was as optimistic as you"

"I'm not. But if I wasn't trying to think positively, I would crawn into a hole and hide just to avoid moving"

"And now you're talking about your family, not our kids and their possibilities of making friends"

"Stop giving me away..." the man said fake slapping his arm "We'll be fine"

"Yes, we will." Harry agreed "I see our daughter, she looks completely lost" he said pointing to the small three years old girl looking around with big eyes

"Alright, Papa to the rescue" the man announced before detaching himself from Harry.

§§

"I knew Mrs. Tonks would be reasonable and let you spend time with Teddy" Hermione smiled coming to walk by his side

"Not really" he muttered, more concentrated on his walking and not dropping the baby, than his friends words

"You didn't take him without her permission, right? Oh, Harry… you can't do something like that, she'll never let you near him again this way!"

"Hermione, stop jumping to conclusions. I didn't steal him, I got custody of him because she's too… whatever… to care for him. The healer said it"

"Surely they are exaggerating. She just lost her daughter and son in law, she's allowed to mourn. They can't take her grandson away from her!" she said passionately

"They can if she tried to kill herself and when she didn't succeed, she resorted to hexing everything on sight" he said bitterly "and she doesn't give a shit about Remus, she blames him…"

"It's the pain speaking, she doesn't mean it and I'm sure that after the shock wears out she'll be completely able to care for him again"

"Whose side are you on?" he asked irritated by the way she kept making excuses for Andromeda. She wasn't the only one who lost people, what right did she have more than others to go crazy and say hurtful things?

"Yours of course" she hurried to placate him "But we're talking about a baby here, Harry. You're just a kid yourself, you can't raise him. And we'll have to come back to school to finish our last year before taking the NEWTS. After that you'll join the aurors and that doesn't exactly facilitate caring for an infant."

Harry frowned "So you think I can't do it?"

"That's not what I said"

"Yes, it is. Along with the fact that you've already planned my future for me" He pointed out betrayed "Who says I want to come back? I can as well take my NEWTS at the Ministry. And I have no intention of becoming an Auror, I've seen enough battles and death to last me a lifetime."

"But you and Ron decided…"

"In fifth year! And I said it mostly to piss off Umbridge." He interrupted her before she could start one of her tirades "And I'm not a kid Hermione. A kid doesn't sacrifice himself for the war and a kid doesn't kill"

"Harry…"

"I need to be alone, now, I think" He said coldly before walking away from her.

He loved her. She was one of his best friends but her tendency to plan everything, included his life, at the moment only grated on his nerves. He wanted to make his own decisions, without anyone's input or permission or acceptance. She'll have to learn to deal with it, because they weren't kids anymore and unlike their study sessions, she couldn't keep planning their futures for them.

He really hoped she understood where he came from and where she had been wrong, because he didn't want to lose one of his friends.

Their discussion though served to show him that he couldn't tell her his plan to leave the wizarding world and England all together. She would never accept it, thinking it a rash decision and try to list all the cons to him. When he would not listen to her, she would then tell others making it for him impossible to leave as he had wished.

He knew her too well. She meant well, but she could never accept that they had their right to choose and make mistakes and that not everyone had to think the same as she.

Maybe now that the war was over, she would grow out of it and forgive him for leaving without saying goodbye to anyone.

* * *

**We're nearly there and soon the name of the Mystery husband (maybe it's not so mysterious though... some things kind of give him away) will be revealed!**

**As always, thank you to everyone who added my story to their alerts and favorites lists and to those who left a review! **


	6. Chapter 5

**We're finally getting some things revealed in this chapter! **

* * *

Just a week to go…

Harry found himself more often than not, immersed in his memories form the past. Ten, nearly eleven years ago. They were still painful, but it was somehow dulled by the passing of time. It was only in his dreams that everything seemed to just be happening, the emotion just as raw. It left him drained and sullen for the whole day whenever he had a bad nightmare. He tried to hide it from his kids but he wasn't always successful.

§§

He had been huddled on the floor, among the rubble and dirt, for who knew how long, hugging his knees and crying out in frustration.

He couldn't do anything right. he couldn't save Cedric. He couldn't save Sirius. Or Remus, Tonks, Dumbledore. He couldn't save Fred.

And now he wasn't even able to free his body from the wreckage to bring him back to his family. How much of a fuck up could he be?  
How could they call him Saviour when he only thing he was able to do was putting people around him in danger? He hadn't even been able to properly die! No, he had to come back to life while hundreds of people remained dead. Why not him?

He sniffed trying to stop the tears from flowing but it was like the floodgates had slammed open and there was no way to close them back against the force of the water.

"You… done… with the pity… party?"

His head snapped up at the sound of the low scratchy voice.

"Down... here"

"F-Fred?" he was alive? But how? He had been buried under that wall for a full day, hell, his legs were still trapped under the stones. Sure, there had been a little bubble of hair that could have kept him alive but… the impact...

"Aren't I the lucky one?" the man smiled deprecatingly.

Harry tried to talk but words didn't come out. Instead his brain seemed to be cataloging all of Fred's injuries. He had a nasty gash on the back of his head, probably some rock hitting him from the falling wall; one of his eyes was swollen shut and his eyebrow was cut too. His body was littered with black angry bruises and his wrist was definitely broken, the hand laying at an odd angle. He couldn't assess the condition of his lower body since it was still trapped but it probably wasn't good.

"Can't feel my legs anymore if that's what you're wondering" Fred rasped painfully. He still hadn't moved an inch, not even his head.

"What do you feel?" he asked "Does anything hurt?" 'Please Merlin let him not be completely paralyzed' he prayed in his head

The man scoffed "Everything from waist up is killing me. Think you can dig me out of here?"

"I… I'll try again" he said biting his lip, hoping that his magic would collaborate this time because there was no way he would be able to move those huge rocks bare handed and going back to call for help would take an hour minimum. He wasn't sure how long Fred would resist.

Raising unsteadily to his feet he palmed his wand and concentrated. It was requiring much more strength than usually but slowly he started moving the stones again. It went slowly, almost painfully so but he was using every drop of magic he had left and needed to be careful to not further injure Fred.

"Alright, that's the last one and then you're free and we can get you to some help" Harry said shakily. His hand was trembling as he directed the last piece of the wall away from Fred, and he was lucky because a moment later it fell loudly on the ground, only mere centimeters away from the redhead's foot.

"Take a rest… I'm not going anywhere" Fred coughed

"No… no. You need medical attention. Like Yesterday!" the boy protested "I'll.. I'll just.."  
"Harry!" Fred shouted before coughing again "Nothing's going to change if we wait…. Spinal injuries can't be healed. And everything else is not fatal"

"But..."

"Sit. Before you faint" the older boy ordered.

Like a puppet whose strings had been cut, Harry fell on his ass, uncaring of hurting himself.

"Surely, there is something they can do?" he asked in a small voice

"Nothing." Fred signed "Magic can do plenty of things but the spine, much like the brain, is still untretable"

"But... I've never seen..."

"Never seen a wizard on a wheelchair?" the young man chuckled bitterly "of course not, they're hidden away like dirty secrets. The shame of the family, almost on par with squibs"

That sounded an awful lot like something the prejudiced bigots of the wizarding world would do.

"Your family is not like that though" Harry mumbled

"No, they're not. And it almost makes it worse" Fred argued "Could you stand being looked at with pity and coddled like a toddler every day for the rest of your life?" he asked "Of course not."

Harry bit his lip "I still have to take you back"

"No, you don't" Fred smiled sadly "I just wanted somewhere a little more comfortable where to die."

"The hell are you talking about?" Harry snapped "I'm not letting you kill yourself!"

"I won't. I'm not suicidal" Fred assured him "The full moon will do it for me"

§§

"Alexander Sirius Potter!" an angry male voice bellowed through the house jerking him from his thoughts "Come here this instant or I will tan your hide so badly your grandchildren will feel it!"

A raven-haired missile run into the study and hid behind the big leather chair on the other side of the desk.

"What did you do to make your father so furious?" Harry asked still writing calmly

"Nothing" the ten-year-old mumbled

"BZZZ. Try again, wrong answer" Harry replied "It's in your best interest telling me the truth and quickly before he sniffs you out."

"I… may have been playing with that old robe.."

"The one he keeps is our closet and doesn't even let ME touch?" Harry asked disbelievingly

"Yeah…"

"Alex…" he sighed, pushing away from the desk and rubbing his eyes "You only see an old robe that looks cool to play with, but you know how important it is for him. It's the only thing he brought with him from back home when we left to come to the States"

"I didn't mean to make him so angry…"

"Then why did you take it?"

"I just wanted to play a little." He protested "I would have put it away before he came back home…"

"And what is it that went wrong with your brilliant plan?"

"I put it back…"

"But?"

"It's torn…" the boy whined on the verge of hysterical crying "I swear I didn't mean too! I didn't want to make papa so angry!"

"Come here Alex, stop hiding, you know that it's useless and your father can sniff you from the other side of the house... as well as hear you" Harry said gesturing his son to sit on his lap "I understand that you didn't tear the robe on purpose, but you took it without permission and you ruined it. It can be repaired of course but the sentimental value he has for that object should keep your grubby fingers well away from it. Your father has every right to punish you"

The boy whimpered already feeling the pain of the major ass whooping he was going to receive

"But" he said raising his voice a little to make sure that both his boys knew he expected them to listen "He will do it only after he has had some time to calm down. Sounds fair?"

Alexander nodded furiously, anything was better than being punished by his angry father, especially so close to the full moon. A grunt came from the other side of the door before they heard the angry man's steps moving away.

"You know, sometimes I regret naming you after my marauder godfather" Harry sighed with a small smile "You take the mantle far too seriously"

§§

Moving silently under his invisibility cloak, Harry checked the corridor before entering the hospital wing. It was full of injured people but all of them were asleep and the few who are awake were too busy entertaining themselves to notice the door opening on his own.

He needed to get a few potions and leave as fast as possible before someone caught him. Of course, the possibilities were pretty slim, the only one always able to find him had been Snape, who always seemed to sense where there was someone to punish around. The man was dead though so unless he suddenly appeared in his ghostly glory to rat him out, he was safe. He had the marauder's map on him, so neither of his friends could try to use it to find him. Ron was too busy mourning with his family and had wasted no time in turning away from him when he realized that his friend had brought back everyone, death eaters included, but his brother. The redhead took it as a personal slight instead of it simply being out of Harry's control.

Of course, Ron didn't know that he was actually right in being angry with him because not only he did reach Fred, but he was alive too and he did leave him back there.

He would think about what to do with his friend later, right now he needed as many potions as he could get for the injured twin that was waiting for him.

He didn't care what the older boy said, he was going to shove as many healing draughts down his throat as possible. He wouldn't let him die for any reason.

Opening the potion cupboard, he started shoveling pain potions, blood replenishers, skelegrow, pepper ups, bruise paste and general healing and antibiotic potions in a small bag he had nicked somewhere on the road.

"I'm telling you. Mr. Potter seems to have vanished into thin air." Madam Pomphrey huffed "And I still haven't gotten my hands on him! Circe knows how injured he is with his track record…"

"Calm down Poppy" the always cheery herbology teacher soothed her "I'm sure he simply found some isolated nook to escape… well, everything for a little while"

"I know Pomona, that would be like him. I'm just worried" the matron confessed "You know that the more I see a student in my infirmary the more attached I become with them"

Harry shuffled carefully back, he was happy to hear that the woman cared for him but he didn't want to be found. Let alone get strapped to a bed to be pocked and prodded. He knew that he probably had some injury he was ignoring thanks to his adrenaline rising again, but once she got her hands on him, she would see the new scar and he would have to give explanations. There was no end to what the woman would do once she found out that he had been hit with the killing curse again, died and come back to life.

He would never leave one of her beds, he shuddered at the thought.

Taking advantage of someone entering the infirmary, he slipped past the doors. Only a strange current at his passage making the poor guy turn confused, but nothing was there for him to see.

He felt bad for avoiding the school nurse, but he would take one or two of the potions he stole for himself to make up for it.

Now that he was actually thinking about it, his whole body hurt, but he forced himself to keep walking so he could get back to Fred. Once there he would take care of both of their injuries as best as he could while trying again to convince the older wizard to agree to be seen by an actual healer.

* * *

**And... Yes, dear Fred was alive after the Battle... you'll have to wait and see what happened to him though...**

**Thank you to everyone who added my story to their alerts and favorites lists or left a review! Let me know what you think of this chapter! **


	7. Chapter 6

**I'm back again with a new chapter. Sorry for the long wait but I've been working by butt off in my olive grove (not sure it's the right word, searched on google translate) for their seasonal care, my back is hating me at the moment but on a positive note my trees got a new haircut and I've got enough firewood to last me for three years. **

**Enough about me, hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"Remind me again, why are we flying with a muggle plane instead of taking a portkey?" the man grunted trying to keep an eye on both their baggage and gaggle of children.

"Because our three youngest get sick" Harry replied bouncing slightly on his feet to keep the baby strapped on his chest blissfully asleep even with all the noise in the airport "I hate portkeys aaand... we would be forced to arrive in one of the Ministry chambers so everyone in Britain would know I'm back in minutes"

The man slumped defeated "I hate planes. Makes me claustrophobic"

"No, they don't. You just hate having those long legs of yours cramped for hours" Harry laughed snatching Ivy's hand, the three years old girl liked wandering away and then they would find her in a puddle of tears moments later when she lost sight of her daddies.

"Don't worry" Harry placated him "We're flying first class this time, plenty of space"

"Daddy how long does it take to get to our new home?"

"A lot, Ethan. So you need to be good children and not throw any tantrums"

"Yes, but how long? And how does the plane stay in the air without falling?" he kept asking

"Fall?" Faith asked suddenly terrified "The plane can fall?"

"Of course it can" Alex sniggered

"Shut up! You're scaring her!" Grace snapped punching his arm

"Children. What did your dad just say about behaving?" the man gave them all a stern look. He was all for play and fun, but when it was time to be serious, he didn't want to repeat things twice. Maybe it was his curse that made him less inclined to tolerate disrespect from his pups, but while his sixteen-year-old self would have been horrified, now that he was a father, he actually felt bad for always being a pain in the ass for his parents. He understood their feelings much better now.

"He started it!" Alex said pointing to the younger boy

"No, Ethan asked a question, though maybe it could have been avoided at this particular moment in time. You took advantage of your sister's fear to scare her more. And Grace don't think that punch was all right"

Teddy sighed, shoving his hands in his jean pockets "Why is it always such a mess whenever we travel"

"Because we have a big family." Harry answered with a small smile watching his husband lecture the kids "If Mrs. Weasley could do it, so can we."

"We have an extra kid though"

"And that's where you're wrong Ted. She had two extra kids. Me and Hermione" Harry laughed "Come on, let's round the troop and see if we can get on that plane"

§§

Harry groaned in pain, using all his strength to drag Fred into one of the classrooms away from the worst of the damaged castle. It had been torture. Both for him, who was exhausted and in pain; and for Fred who was severely injured.

The fact that he had shoved pain and healing potion's down the other wizard's throat didn't seem to make much of a difference.

"Take a pepper up" Fred rasped from his place on the floor, eyes tightly shut trying to will away the pain that threatened to overwhelm him.

"I don't need it"

"You do. You are physically and magically at your limits!" Fred snapped "If you want to die do it where I won't have to smell your decaying carcass while I wait for my own demise!"

"Stop saying you're going to die!" he snapped back "I won't let you"

"You won't… Merlin Potter. Can't you understand?" the man asked rubbing his face awkwardly with one hand. The other had been bound in a makeshift bandage so the wrist would set back correctly.

"What?"

"I'm fucking paralyzed. My own magical core is empty and in a week it will be the full moon. Got that? The whole transformation where all your bones and organs shift and you become a werewolf? In my condition it's going to kill me! And if by any chance I survive the transformation, I will turn on myself once my wolf realizes it can't freaking move!"

"You…."

"Yes, I was bitten months ago. When they attacked the shop, it was the full moon and one of them bit me. George is the only one who knows" Fred said "Do you understand now why all you're trying to do it's completely pointless?"

"But if they healed you…"

"They won't." he insisted "Once they realize I'm a werewolf, they'll let me rot in one of their high security rooms, that is if they don't kick me out right away. Plus, as I already told you. They can't heal the spine"

Harry frowned at being talked to like an imbecile, but he guessed that Fred had all the rights to be an ass in his conditions. He knew that he would be even worse in his place.

"Then what? You plan on stating in this room and wait to starve? Or be killed by the full moon?" He asked "People will come back here in less than a week"

"Why? You've already taken back all the bodies. They have no reason to venture here until they start the reconstruction to the castle" the redhead pointed out "and that will take months. Plenty of time to die"

"Stop saying that" He nearly moaned in pain. he had already lost so many people. How could Fred expect him to just sit there and be alright with his lack of plans to at least try to keep living? It was ridiculous!

"What's your big plan then?" Fred asked "I won't go back to my family. It would just make them mourn me twice, when the moon kills me. Find another solution and I will take it into consideration"

"You swear?"

Fred sighed, suddenly wishing to fall asleep "Yeah. I swear"

"Alright. I'll think of something." Harry said "You rest, I'll go back and find something for you to eat and some water."

"Mmh mmh. See you later" he mumbled already giving into unconsciousness.

§§

The whole ordeal had been worse than he first expected. The last time they had travelled by plane, there had only been three children and it had been perfectly manageable. This time not so much. Finally though, they were halfway through the flight and silence reigned.

Teddy and Alex were seated together and playing with their video games. The twins were sleeping cuddled together looking like two dolls. Ethan, his ever studious son, was reading a book on the history of London; while Rowan was listening to him with concentration. His husband was reclined back on the seat with their one year old toddler sleeping on his chest and he was cuddling their last one, three year old Ivy who was valiantly trying to resist sleep.

He wondered what his friends were doing back home. It had been difficult keeping up with their lives or with the British wizarding world in general. Not many news ever reached the other side of the pond. Americans weren't fond of them in general, looking at their society in the continent with something akin to disdain. Their statue of secrecy was absolute and while they accepted everything new to integrate better in the muggle world, actually mixing with muggles was strictly prohibited. There were no mixed relationships allowed, the punishment was obliviation for the muggle and prison for the magical. Being friends with them was fine, as long as they remained ignorant about the existence of magic; dating or marrying them was not. On one hand it was positive, there was no blood prejudice in America because there were no different blood status; on the other, it limited the gene pool and magical births would start to drastically reduce in the following decades in Harry's opinion.

But back on topic, he hoped that Ron and Hermione had finally managed to get together after the battle. He hadn't stayed enough to see for himself.

What he knew was that the Ministry should be a better place now. Kinglsey had become Minister and was still in position, though ready to retire sometime soon. The Malfoys had been pardoned, Draco and Narcissa that is, while Lucius had been sentenced to eight years in Azkaban. His only saving grace had been not participating in the final battle and his help in rounding up the escaped death eaters by supplying the aurors with information had his prison time reduced to only four years. Luckily for him, Dementors had been taken away from Azkaban and confined on a deserted island, never to terrorize human race again. They were only waiting on someone to figure out how to completely destroy them.

His information from home sadly stopped there. So they were going to fly blind, so to speak.

He really hoped their family and friends would understand. His husband would be broken if they were to reject him.

§§

"What's with the baby?" Fred croaked as Harry settled back on the floor next to him

"He's Teddy. Remus and Tonks' son." Harry said "They died in the battle and apparently Andromeda took it so badly that the healer took away her custody of him. I'll take care of him now"

"Good for you" the redhead said "You'll make sure he grows up happy and knows about his parents"

"You're the first to say that" Harry muttered "McGonagall asked me twice if I was sure and Mione said it outright, that I'm a kid and wouldn't know where to start. That and a load of bullshit about coming back to repeat seventh year and joining the aurors"

"Ok.. that's crazy" the man laughed shallowly "Seriously what kind of messed up person would expect a traumatized guy to go back to the place he had to fight for his life?"

"Dunno. Hermione it seems"

"Forget it. As for not knowing what you're doing. Newsflash, no new parent knows" Fred reassured him "Mum often liked to tell us that when she had Bill she was a complete mess. He would cry all the time and she couldn't understand how to calm him down until he was six months. Every time he cried she would end up a mess of tears right along with him until dad came home and put both of them to bed"

"Really?" he asked incredulous " but your mum is so.."

"Great? Yeah, took a lot of practice to achieve her lever of motherness perfection"

"Is motherness a word?"

"Dunno. Anyway, you'll mess up, he'll make your hairs go prematurely gray… but you'll both be fine. Don't stress so much" Fred waved carelessly with his good hand.

"Thank you" Harry whispered "For believing I can do it. I was starting to get some major break down about it"

"No worries. As for the auror thing. It would be normal for your plans to have changed. You went through a war already, some peace and calm away from the fighting is more than earned I would say"

"Yeah. I don't know what else I would do, but not that"

"You have time to decide and plenty of money to keep you going"

"Not so much, my trust is nearly empty. That is if the goblins even let me back after the break in and running away with their dragon business" he complained

"Potter, you can't be so naïve. Yours is an old pureblood family. Well, pureblood until your father married a muggleborn, at least. You have more than your trust vault, which is as the name suggest a trust until you're of age. You're filthy rich"

"I… no one ever told me"

"Why do you think Ronnie was always so jealous of you whenever you spent some money?" Fred asked "I sure hope he's grown out of it"

"I really had no idea." He huffed irritably "people always looked at me to save the day but I don't even know anything about the wizarding world, hell, I don't know shit about my family either it seems"

"You can learn. Buy books about it and stop whining"

"Gee, thank you"

"You're welcome"

"I'm leaving" Harry blurted after a few moments of silence

"Ok."

"No, I mean I'm leaving the wizarding world. Leaving Great Britain." Harry said "I want to get away from all of this"

Fred hummed thoughtfully "Good for you. You'll get to be your own person away from here, just Harry"

"Want to come with me?"

"What?" the man laughed disbelievingly

"You said that if I had a plan you would think about it"

"And you're plan is take me somewhere else to die?"

Harry growled fed up with this dying nonsense.

"That's a Troll. Absolutely pitiful growling Potter." Fred pronounced "And said by a werewolf too"

"Shut up. I want to go to the States. Maybe there they could treat you. We could even let muggle doctors examine you, they could do something"

"And when I sprout fur and howl at the moon how are you going to explain it to them?"

"I'd take you away before the full moon of course"

"Let's say I agree to come with you. The full moon is only a week away, what could they do in so little time and how I am supposed to get there in the first place?" he asked "You can't make an illegal portkey to the States, they are rigidly controlled over there, and you can't get one from the Ministry. Not only they would never let you go, but it would definitely defeat my purpose of appearing dead to the world"

"Plane" he deadpanned "We're going to travel muggle"

Fred looked at him in silence judging just how far gone the younger wizard was. "You're serious"

"Deadly so"

"I… it's crazy." The man sighed "and useless"

"It going to be my time wasted then." Harry rebuked "You have nothing to lose. You're going to get out of this dusty room, experience muggle flying... maybe even visit a bit of the States before you snuff it"

"Nothing to lose, uh?"

"Nope"

"You better go to Gringotts then and withdraw the Potter fortune. Have the goblins seal your properties too" Fred said resignedly "Don't offer them compensation for the damage caused, they would take advantage of it. Tell them that there was an horcrux in the vault and that that other goblin, whathisname, betrayed you. That you already offered him the Sword of Gryffindor… they won't be able to blame you for it then. Worst they do is ban you from the bank after you take everything of yours away"

"You sure?" he bit his lip. It seemed terribly presumptuous to behave like that with goblins.

"Yeah, Bills deals with them everyday, remember? He taught us how to behave with them in any situation, especially after we opened the shop. Wanted us to be prepared for anything given our penchant for troublemaking."

"Alright, then. I should go right away, then I'll come back to fetch you so we can leave with the first flight"

"Go for it!" he cheered without enthusiasm raising a fist in the air.

* * *

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